Justice John Nivison of the Business and Consumer Court denied a motion by the trustees to dismiss the lawsuit, in which the Pirates are seeking to enforce terms of a tentative lease agreement reached by the two side last spring. The April deal, which was never signed, fell apart when the two sides could not agree on how to divide concession sales.

The Civic Center is in the middle of a $34-million renovation project.

The Pirates filed the lawsuit in September, claiming that the trustees should be required to adhere to the terms of a five-year lease agreement that was announced back in April.

The dispute later led the Pirates to announce they would play their entire season at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston.

"The Pirates filed this lawsuit for one key reason: to play hockey before our fans at the Civic Center under the terms of the April 17 agreement. No more, no less," said Ron Cain, the Pirates' principal owner. Cain reiterated an offer for the two sides to resume negotiations on the lease as a way of resolving the matter out of court.

David Barry, a lawyer for the Civic Center, issued a statement Saturday saying that while the trustees had hoped to avoid incurring further legal expenses in defending the lawsuit, "it is a high bar to get over legally."

"The Civic Center remains strong in its belief that the Pirates' claims are without merit and that our position will only get stronger as the case moves forward," Barry said. He added that the judge's decision "does not speak to the merits or legitimacy of the Pirates' claims or their ultimate likelihood of success."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Tuesday that a proposed agreement between world powers and Iran was "a bad deal" that would not stop Tehran from getting nuclear weapons -- but would rather pave its way to getting lots of them and lea...